Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Visas in the USA

Greetings, community.

Country of Origin: Ireland
Emigration destination: United States

I'm a Irish citizen living in Ireland. I wish to work in the USA with a view to moving there permanently. Having done some research around the process, I have a few rudimentary questions.

1) The USCIS website distinguishes between immigrant and non-immigrant visas. From what I understand, although I may have the nomenclature confused, is that immigrant visas are granted to individuals who wish to move and work in the US permanently, whereas the non-immigrant visas are for those who wish to move and work there temporarily. Is this assumption correct?

2a) As I have mentioned, I wish to move to the US permanently to work. Does this mean I should apply for an immigrant visa i.e. an EB- visa? Again, the USCIS site suggests that such visa categories are immigrant visas for those who wish to obtain a green card for permanent residency in the US.

2b) Other sources suggest that the EB- classifications are categories into which H1-B visa applicants are placed based on qualification criteria which ultimately stipulates the duration of time which must transpire before they are eligible to apply for a green card. I understand this is the polar opposite of 2a) above, but I hope that someone can clarify my understanding in this regard. Is this correct?

3) Based on the answer to 2a) and 2b) above, which visa should I be applying for?

4) In any case, should I employ the services of an immigration lawyer to help with the process of visa application?

If I can provide any further clarification of my current situation, please do not hesitate to ask. Many thanks in advance for any answers or insights which you might have.

Yes, as seems clear from the classifications, immigrant visas are for people who intend to immigrate, and non-immigrant visas are for people who do not.

We have no way of knowing whether you would qualify for a visa as an investor, but if you do that's one way to get an immigrant visa. H1-B visas are dual intent, meaning that you can seek permanent residency while present in the U.S. on a H1-B visa, although the H1-B visa itself does not give you any right to immigrate.

You would want to determine what visas you qualify for, and apply for the one that best suits your goals. For an H1-B visa, your U.S. employer would petition for the visa. If you want to enter as an investor, it would make sense for you to discuss the details of your plan and qualifications with an immigration lawyer.

Many thanks for the prompt response. It has enlightened me somewhat.

My intent is to work in the US and, ultimately, obtain permanent residency. Based on what I've read so far, I expect I want an immigrant visa. As to whether or not I qualify for one, I don't know. Can anyone suggest how I might go about finding out?

The USCIS site mentions the Employment Based immigrant visa, but an immigration lawyer I spoke to informed me that EB-1, EB-2, EB-3 are just categories into which H1-B visa holders are placed, which seemed contradictory to me. Should I speak with another immigration lawyer?

If anyone can advise me, I'd very much appreciate it.

In terms of investment, read this.

In terms of an H1-B visa, find an employer willing to hire you and sponsor you as a H1-B employee and work forward from there.

So, other than entering the US as an investor, the only avenue for a professional such as myself is the H1-B visa? Am I understanding this correctly?

Can you clarify what the EB- classifications are here? Are these categories subsequent steps to obtaining a H1-B i.e. is it imperative that I apply for a H1-B first in all cases, if I am not entering the US as an investor? My apologies for inundating you with questions; this just seems a bit ambiguous to me.

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my queries.